New Square Dental Surgery

Updated 30 June 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the practice was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

The inspection took place on 07 June 2016 and was conducted by a CQC inspector and a dental specialist advisor.

During the inspection we spoke with the principal dentist, a dental hygienist, a dental nurse and the receptionist. We received feedback from15 patients about the quality of the service, which included comment cards and patients we spoke with during our inspection. We reviewed policies, procedures and other documents relating to the management of the service.

The principal dentist is the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the practice is run.

To get to the heart of patients’ experiences of care and treatment, we always ask the following five questions:

• Is it safe?
• Is it effective?
• Is it caring?
• Is it responsive to people’s needs?
• Is it well-led?

These questions therefore formed the framework for the areas we looked at during the inspection.

Updated 30 June 2016

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 07 June 2016 to ask the practice the following key questions; Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

Our findings were:

Are services safe?

We found that this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found that this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

We found that this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found that this practice was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found that this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations

Background

New Square Dental Surgery provides private dental treatment to adults and has about 500 permanent patients on its list. In addition to general dentistry, it also provides orthodontics, periodontics, tooth whitening, and a nervous patient programme.

The practice has one principal dentist, two associate dentists, and two dental hygienists. A specialist periodontist visits once a fortnight and a specialist endodontist once a month.

The practice opens on a Monday from 8.30am to 7pm, and on Tuesdays to Thursdays from 8.30am to 5pm.It also opens one Saturday a month.

The practice’s premises consist of three treatment rooms, a decontamination room, a patient waiting area and a small reception office.

Our key findings were:

• We received consistently good feedback from patients about the quality of the practice’s staff and the effectiveness of their treatment.

• Staff had received safeguarding training, knew how to recognise signs of abuse and how to report it.

• The practice was visibly clean and well maintained.

• Infection control and decontamination procedures were robust, ensuring patients’ safety.

• There was appropriate equipment for staff to undertake their duties, and equipment was well maintained.

• Patients could access routine treatment and urgent care when required.

• Staff had received training appropriate for their roles and were supported in their continued professional development

• Patients were treated in a way that they liked and information about them was treated confidentially.

• Patients received their care and treatment from well trained and supported staff, who enjoyed their work.

• The practice was well-led, staff felt involved and supported and worked well as a team

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Review fire safety systems so that staff regularly practice evacuating the building in the event of a fire and so that adequate signage of fire escape routes is provided.
• Review the practice’s arrangements for receiving and responding to patient safety alerts, recalls and rapid response reports issued from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and through the Central Alerting System (CAS).
• Review the practice's protocols for completion of dental care records giving due regard to guidance provided by the Faculty of General Dental Practice regarding clinical examinations and record keeping.

• Review the practice protocols and adopt an individual risk based approach to patient recalls and the procedures for promoting the maintenance of good oral health giving.
• Review the practice’s protocols with regards to providing all patients with detailed treatment and cost plans.
• Review appraisal protocols to ensure that all clinicians working at the practice have their performance monitored and assessed.